Towing with the Outlander PHEV - An owner’s perspective

17th Feb, 2015

How does Outlander PHEV perform when towing a big load? We wanted to do the ultimate towing test through the lens of someone who can judge this best - a customer. One of the first Outlander PHEV owners in Australia, Paul Van Gaans, was up for the challenge.

Towing a caravan can be a daunting experience, especially if you haven’t done it before.

“First up let me declare that we’ve never towed a caravan before. I’ve towed trailers from small to large and have never had trouble handling or reversing those so I’m not expecting any issues, it will be different and I’ll have a lot to learn but I believe it’ll be a manageable challenge and after owning a Outlander PHEV for 8 months now, I have full confidence in the Outlander’s impressive capabilities.“

We wanted Paul to really test the PHEV on every type of terrain you’re likely to encounter towing in Australia, while hauling a caravan of almost 1500kg’s.

So how did the Outlander PHEV go? Paul said that he feels that he “can truly take [his] EV everywhere” and he “never once felt that the caravan was overpowering the Outlander PHEV”.

What was Paul’s favourite trick? Gliding around the caravan park in EV mode and sneaking past walkers! “Checking my rear vision mirror to watch them do a double take as they realised my tow car was making no noise, brought a smile to my face every time.”

Paul’s striking verdict after his almost 2,000km long trip:

“In the past I’ve always stated that I prefer all-electric vehicles but after having completed this journey with the PHEV I’m beginning to change my mind, heck I can do anything in this thing. From driving endless distances to 4 wheel driving on the beach at Robe to towing a caravan to driving without using any fuel in cities. I feel I can truly take my EV everywhere.”

So would he do it all again? “You betcha!”

You can check out Paul’s full review including all details and specification here.

Overnight test drives are currently on offer. If you would like to have the full Outlander PHEV experience book your test drive today.